


within the dark

by ensembledesétoiles (Tsundeyama)



Category: Red Queen Series - Victoria Aveyard
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Highly Self-Indulgent, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, if victoria won't give maven the love he deserves i'll do it, lots of comfort, my boy deserves, please love maven ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26045347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tsundeyama/pseuds/ensembledes%C3%A9toiles
Summary: maven doesn’t have nightmares. doesn’t fear the dark, but he remembers enough of the days when he had them to know that they are ephemeral, yes, but also scary. so on nights his beloved wakes up gasping, sweaty and teary-eyed, he knows to hold her the way he would’ve loved to be held when he was a child.
Relationships: Maven Calore & Tiberias "Cal" Calore VII, Maven Calore/Original Character(s), Maven Calore/Reader
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	within the dark

**Author's Note:**

> okay i'm sorry in advance if this doesn't make sense i barely remember writing this at 5 am and then falling back to sleep but i love maven and king's cage destroyed me and when will i read war storm ? i don't know because i miss maven BUT i also feel like i've cried enough.
> 
> my english is bad, i was half-asleep, this isn't edited but whatever, this is self-indulgent anyway who's even gonna read that. 
> 
> i don't know if this is canon compliant or some sort of AU, i don't know anything except the fact that i love one prince/king and it is maven.

maven doesn’t have nightmares. doesn’t fear the dark, but he remembers enough of the days when he had them to know that they are ephemeral, yes, but also _scary_. so on nights his beloved wakes up gasping, sweaty and teary-eyed, he knows to hold her the way he would’ve loved to be held when he was a child.

she’s shaking badly, still half-stuck in her nightmare, the worst she had in a while, but maven’s arms are already around her, his hands smoothly running up and down her back or drawing circles on her skin. it’s warm of course, as it always is in the embrace of a burner king, but she knows maven is adding extra warmth to the hug, careful to keep the temperature relaxing and not uncomfortable.

her eyes close again, her head rests on the boy’s shoulder and he leads them both back on the mattress. he feels her eyelashes flutter against his skin and holds her a little closer. his fingers touch her cheek before his hand completely cups it. more warmth. _fall back to sleep. i’m right here, you have nothing to fear._

she nuzzles into the crook of his neck, breathes in his familiar scent. she lets his warmth comfort her the way cal’s couldn’t. as much as she liked, _likes_ , the first prince, she is glad to be back with maven. she _loves_ him like she never loved anyone.

soon, she relaxes in his arms, breathing once again steady. still, he doesn’t let go, resting his chin on top of her head.

he draws shapes across her back as he stares into the darkness of the room. he can remember a time when he was scared of the night, when he had nightmares too.

he barely remembers the way it felt to have cal — _his beloved brother_ ’s arms around him (because he was always the one he ran to in the middle of the night, when the initial paralyzing fear subsided enough for him to get out of bed and tiptoe to cal’s room), can’t remember the words of comfort the first prince whispered in his ears as he fell back to sleep feeling safe and warm against his older brother.

but cal’s face is blurry in the few memories he has left, the scraps elara left him with when she cut away the parts of his brain that worshipped cal as every little boy worship their big brothers.

maven shivers, feeling the emptiness in chest spreading throughout his body in place of the love that should be there. he remembers loving cal, but he knows he never will anymore, no matter how hard he wants too.

he buries his head in his beloved’s hair and the girls arms wrap around his slender waist ; not completely asleep yet. his embrace loosen enough for her to move freely, raising a hand to cup his cheek, tilting her head up to kiss his chin before leaning back to look at his face, eyes struggling to stay open.

her thumb gently caresses his cheek and the king leans into the comforting touch, his own hand resting over hers. slowly, the void reclines and he feels alive again, _whole_ again (even though he’ll never be completely whole again) with every _it’s okay,_ that she whispers, _everything is okay now. i love you._

their foreheads rest against one another, and maven’s lips feather her own in an almost kiss, both back to their initial sleepy state : only warmth and love radiating between them as they slip back into dreamless slumber.


End file.
